Sharon Howard was planning her future when it was cruelly taken from her
A woman who survived a tsunami shared the devastation of the impact of the waves.
It has been 20 years since the Boxing Day tsunami which killed of more than 227,000 people on 26 December 2004.
There were little survivors out of those who were swept away by the waves, and for Sharon Howard, it took ‘everything’ from her.
She was there that day when the waves took the lives of her two sons and her fiancé.
At the time, the family had been holidaying in Thailand at the beach resort of Khao Lak.
Sharon Howard had been holidaying with her fiancé and kids when the waves struck (ENA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images)
Sadly, they were in the path of 100-foot waves which were triggered after an earthquake in the Indian Ocean shifted tectonic plates, resulting in a disaster that affected several countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka
Thailand was where David Page, 44, Mason, eight, and six-year-old Taylor were bombarded by the waves whilst staying at the resort.
Sharon, 57, has visited the new hotel which is in place of the original destroyed hotel for the last 15 years to lay flowers for her loved ones.
The mum-of-three has been open about what that day was like for her, particularly the moment the water came crashing into the hotel.
While many victims lost their lives on the beaches, Sharon was in her ground-floor hotel room with David as Mason was on a sun lounger outside of the room and Taylor was at the resort’s kids’ club.
She explained that the family had all had breakfast together, before David and Mason dropped Taylor to the club and Mason went to relax on his own.
Sharon said she was first alerted to something going wrong when she heard a ‘loud and powerful noise’ and opened the door to see water coming into their room.
That’s when David told her to close it as ‘the water will go down’.
Sharon lost David, Mason and Taylor (Devon & Cornwall Police)
She said: “The next thing, water just crashed through the patio door and we were pushed into the corner by the weight of it. All I could think of was my sons.”
She said it ‘crashed through the patio door and we were pushed into the corner by the weight of it’ where she hit her head and passed out.
Sharon explained: “I came round and David was in front of me, not moving. His head was in the water. I shook him and shook him to get a response and there wasn’t one.
“I knew I had to go and look for the boys.”
But where were her sons?
“I knew I had to go and look for the boys,” she said.
Unfortunately, the boys had died from the impact of the waves, but Sharon didn’t know that at the time and tried to find them.
Sharon on the other hand, was saved after an Australian man called Ian Walsh held a beach towel from an upper level and pulled her up to safety.
Recalling the moment, she realised that her youngest was gone, she said: “People shouted that the water was coming again.
“He grabbed some towels and helped me up to the next level.
First waves of 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
Credit: YouTube/JulianHadden1
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“That saved me from being washed away. I just thought ‘I’ve got to get to the children’s club’.
“I managed to get down there but there was a man in there who said, ‘There’s no one in there’. He was also looking for his little boy.”
After the disaster, it took three months for Taylor’s body to be returned to the UK, while David and Mason’s bodies were not found until months later.
She said of that day: “I was looking forward to the future, but it was all sadly taken away from me.”Featured Image Credit: Devon & Cornwall Police / SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Britt Jones
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Updated 15:47 26 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 11:38 26 Dec 2024 GMT
Woman who lost fiancé and two sons in Boxing Day tsunami makes devastating admission on 20th anniversary
Sharon Howard lost her two sons and partner within minutes
A woman who survived a tsunami has opened up about its impact 20 years on.
The Boxing Day tsunami which took the lives of more than 227,000 people on 26 December 2004 is a disaster that will never be forgotten.
For Sharon Howard, it was something that not only harmed herself, but also took the lives of her two sons and her fiancé.
She had been holidaying in Thailand at the time of its impact and were enjoying her time at the beach resort of Khao Lak.
However, the family wasn’t to know that 100-foot waves and an earthquake in the Indian Ocean would trigger a disaster which was 23,000 times stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear bomb in Japan.
It was upon this impact that David Page, 44, Mason, eight, and six-year-old Taylor lost their lives.
First waves of 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
Credit: YouTube/JulianHadden1
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Thailand was just one country on a list of many others which were bombarded by the waves, including Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Sharon, who is now 57, visited her old hotel today and laid flowers to commemorate the awful tragedy.
The Sun reported her as saying: “I was dreading going back to Thailand, absolutely dreading it, but it’s something I had to do for myself.
“My family don’t really understand but we all grieve differently and they prefer to leave it in the past and remember them as they were.
“But I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go.”
She added that she feels ‘more emotional now than I did when it happened’ because ‘it was like a part of my brain shut down for years’
Explaining that she had thought about her loved ones ‘every day for the last 20 years’, adding: “The boys are around me constantly; they are in my heart.
“You learn to live without them but you never forget. You never heal.
“I see their friends around still and what they are doing and it makes me wonder what my boys would have been doing — if they’d have had children, what they would look like. But I’ll never know.”
Sharon Howard lost David, Mason and Taylor (Devon & Cornwall Police)
While many victims lost their lives on the beaches when the waves his, Sharon was in her ground-floor hotel room with David as Mason was on a sun lounger outside of the room and Taylor was at the resort’s kids’ club.
Sharon said she heard a ‘loud and powerful noise’ and opened the door, before David told her to close it as ‘the water will go down’.
But instead, the water ‘crashed through the patio door and we were pushed into the corner by the weight of it’ where she suffered a head injury.
Telling her husband that she loved him before passing out, she came around to find David had passed away and was under the water in front of her.
So, she tried to find her sons.
“I knew I had to go and look for the boys.”
Unfortunately, the boys had died on impact.
Sharon on the other hand, was only saved after an Australian holidaymaker called Ian Walsh dangled a beach towel from an upper level and pulled her up.
Following on from the disaster, it took three months for Taylor’s body to be returned to the UK , sadly David and Mason’s bodies were not found for months.
After coming back for 15 years to lay flowers at the new hotel which was erected after the original hotel was destroyed by the waves, she shared how she had hoped there would be an official memorial ceremony today.
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Sharon admitted that she lost everything that day (National Geographic / Disney+)
However, when she called to ask the British Embassy in Thailand, nobody called her back.
The day took away everything from her, and it should have been a day of celebration.
That’s because David had proposed to her on Christmas Day, the day before he died.
She said: “When David and I got engaged the day before it was one of the happiest moments of my life.
“I’d been single for a while.
“I’d been married to Mason and Taylor’s father, but he left me when I was six months’ pregnant.
“I’d been on my own so it was nice to think I’d got a family again.
“I was looking forward to the future, but it was all sadly taken away from me.”Featured Image Credit: Devon & Cornwall Police / National Geographic / Disney+
Topics: Travel, Christmas, UK News
Britt Jones
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Published 18:29 10 Jun 2024 GMT+1
Family of Harry Dunn speak out during first day of inquest after he died being struck by a car
Harry Dunn’s parents paid an emotional tribute to their son
Harry Dunn’s mum and dad have issued a heartbreaking tribute after their teenage son was killed in a motorcycle accident.
The 19-year-old, from Brackley, collided with the car of US government employee Anne Sacoolas after she was driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, in Northamptonshire, in August 2019.
After Sacoolas pleaded guilty to death by careless driving, she was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence in December 2022.
She left the country shortly after and was given diplomatic immunity on behalf of the US State Department.
Harry Dunn died after being struck by a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire. (Family Handout)
Harry’s mum Charlotte Charles said at the inquest at Sessions House in Northampton today (10 June), that her son should ‘still be alive today’.
“Harry was vibrant, caring, funny and so terribly protective of myself and the rest of my family,” she said.
“He loved winding people up for a giggle. He was sensitive… outspoken, brutally honest, decisive and spontaneous.
“He was ambitious, wanted to go places in life and to leave his mark. He was quick-witted and very intelligent.
“As a family, we have obviously been through a lot since Harry died and had one hell of a fight on our hands to survive.
“However, we have learned that Harry was not the first to die in these circumstances, and sadly he has not been the last.
“We are deeply concerned that the issue of road safety outside US bases may have been neglected by both governments and I would like the coroner to inquire into why that is.
“I feel that Harry should still be alive today.”
Charlotte Charles said that her son should ‘still be alive today’. (PA)
Meanwhile, Harry’s father Tim Dunn said: “After officially identifying his body with the police, we left the hospital totally numb – not knowing that the real hell was about to start.
“No more Harry, no more hearing him laugh, no more of his cheeky grin, no more days at the football.
“When I think back to the night he died it seems unreal, almost like a nightmare.”
He continued: “It felt like I was looking down from above, surveying what was happening but unable to say or change anything.
“I couldn’t believe what was in front of my eyes.
“I would have done anything that night to change the outcome for Harry.
“He would have given so much love, joy and happiness.
“The saddest thing is that the world is a lesser place without him.”
Sacoolas’ lawyer, Ben Cooper KC, said his client had ‘provided everything she could to help this inquest’ and offered to ‘answer any further questions’, despite choosing not to appear in court remotely.
The inquest is scheduled to last for four days.Featured Image Credit: Handout/PA
Anish Vij
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Updated 12:10 25 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 12:11 25 Feb 2024 GMT
Man was ‘hours away from death’ after drinking two litres of energy drinks every day for two years
The bloke has been guzzling up energy drinks for the last two decades
A man ended up being ‘hours away from death’ after drinking two litres of energy drinks every day for two years.
Andy Hammond was left fearing for his life after he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. The Hartlepool bloke had a long-standing love of energy drinks which he started on as a teenager, thinking they were ‘cool’.
But this led to the 36-year-old guzzling them up in high amounts for the last two decades, starting off at one can a day.
Kennedy News and Media
He explained: “I remember drinking energy drinks when I was a kid because it was the ‘cool’ thing to do.
“Since drinking them from the age of 15, I’ve just continued to drink them ever since. It wasn’t that I really liked the taste of them, it was more of a habit.
“I started drinking one to two cans which increased to three or four a day then I started drinking the 500ml cola Monster energy drinks, I was drinking four a day, then I started getting water infections and was passing blood in my urine.”
And it’s that constant downing of Monster that he reckons led to this hospital scare, which saw him be treated for several severe water infections before suddenly collapsing at home on Christmas Day.
Doctors found the bloke had developed a four millimetre kidney stone, unsurprisingly leaving him in extreme pain.
The NHS explains kidney stones are typically formed as a result of a build-up of a substance like calcium, ammonia or uric acid in the body. Most kidney stones are composed of calcium and oxalate – found in many caffeinated drinks.
“I told them I don’t drink a lot of water and drink quite a lot of energy drinks,” he said. “They told me that energy drinks contain a lot of caffeine and phosphorus and sugars and there is medical research linking drinks to the formation of kidney stones.
Kennedy News and Media
“And kidney stones can turn septic which can kill you in hours.”
Andy ended up admitted to hospital again as the pain got worse, undergoing a operation to have a stent fitted between his kidneys and bladder to help pass urine.
Still suffering with water infections now, the dad is waiting on surgery to have the kidney stone removed.
The dad, who is still suffering with frequent water infections now, is awaiting surgery to have the kidney stone removed.
“They told me it could take between six months and two years to fully recover. And if I continue to keep getting infections, I won’t get any better,” he added.
Andy explained he was able to drink so many Monster cans because ‘they’re readily available cheaply’ but after this ‘eye-opener’, he’s sworn off energy drinks completely.
Kennedy News and Media
“I have two children and know this kidney infection could’ve turned into sepsis, which can kill you. I’ve been really poorly and feel grateful I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said.
“For me it’s just water and eating healthily now and staying fit. That’s me off them for life now.
“You always see kids drinking energy drinks. We’re yet to see the long-term harmful effect that these drinks are having since they’re quite a recent thing.”
LADbible has contacted Monster Energy for comment.Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Topics: UK News, Health, Food And Drink
Jess Battison
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Updated 15:25 24 Jun 2024 GMT+1Published 10:30 22 Jun 2024 GMT+1
Owner of Airbnb where missing teen Jay Slater stayed speaks out as search enters sixth day
Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife on 17 June
The Airbnb owner of the property missing teen Jay Slater was understood to have stayed in has spoken out as the desperate search operation continues.
Jay, 19, has been missing for six days now after vanishing in Tenerife on Monday morning. He had been attending the New Rave Generation festival with friends on the island, when, according to his friend, he decided to stay out with a group of people he had just met on Sunday (16 June) evening.
The Lancashire native’s family have been frantic in their efforts to find him, telling news outlets that they believe he could have been ‘taken against his will’.
Friend Lucy Law told Sky News he phoned her at around 8.00am on 17 June to tell her he was ‘in the middle of nowhere’ and had only one percent battery left on his phone, having missed a bus back to the resort, with an 11-hour walk ahead.
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Jay Slater has been missing since the 17th of June. Family handout
She shared further details from her final phone call with Jay, claiming he had cut his leg on a cactus.
Speaking to Sky News, Lucy – who had been attending the festival with Jay – said he rang her to say he ‘didn’t know where he was’, that he ‘needed a drink’ and had ‘cut his leg on a cactus’.
She went on to say that he sent her a photo of his location before the battery on his phone died.
The Brit was believed to be staying in an Airbnb in Los Christianos and the owner, Ophelia, claimed she saw Jay that day walking in a ‘dangerous’ area in the mountains near Masca – a secluded town.
She told the MEN: It’s dangerous walking around here, it’s easy to lose yourself. He walked up the road when I saw him for the last time.”
According to reports, Jay had been drinking that night with two other people at the festival and continued after the event in Casa Abuela Tina, 20 miles north of the gig in Playa Las Americas.
After leaving the party and deciding to go home to the resort he was staying at, he called his friend Lucy at around 8.00am and expressed his concerns over his phone battery, thirst and injured leg.
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Lucy Law spoke to him on the phone before he went missing. (Snapchat)
Lucy, who set up a GoFundMe for Jay which is currently at £25,694, went on to add to Sky News that he is ‘not a stupid boy’ and would’ve tried to get in contact with his family if the opportunity presented itself.
She said: “If he’d seen somebody, or a car, he would have flagged down the car – he would have said he needed a phone to contact someone.
“If he saw someone, the first thing he would do is say ‘I need to ring my mum’ – I know that for a fact. He would never ever have his mum worrying like this.
“It’s just awful – I’ve never in my life been so worried.”
Search efforts continue to ramp up as the Garde search the dangerous terrain on the mountain and a 2,000ft ravine close to the location he called Lucy in a bid to bring him home.